Mieczysław Weinberg

Mieczysław Weinberg was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. At the age of 12, he began formal music lessons. Later, he studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1939, Weinberg fled Warsaw when Germany invaded Poland and started World War II. His family was later murdered at the Trawniki concentration camp. Weinberg found refuge in the Soviet Union. He established himself successfully in Moscow with support from Dmitri Shostakovich and the Committee on the Arts. Postwar changes in Soviet cultural policy led to increased persecution of minority groups, including Jews. Although Weinberg's music was well regarded and regularly played, he was surveilled and harassed by the MVD. On February 6, 1953, Weinberg was arrested and jailed at Lubyanka Prison. Intercession on his behalf by Shostakovich and Stalin's death led to Weinberg's release on April 25. The 1960s were the peak of Weinberg's professional success. Aside from his concert works, his music for film also became well known. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mieczys...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)